33p  £)cnman  W.  Kossa 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE.     Illustrated. 
ON   DRAWING  AND  PAINTING.     Illustrated. 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
Boston  and  New  York 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


THE 


PAINTERS  PALETTE 


A  THEORY  OF  TONE   RELATIONS 
AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  EXPRESSION 


BY 
DENMAN  WALDO  ROSS 

LECTURER  ON  DESIGN 
IN  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

MDCCCCXIX 


NX  uio 


COPYRIGHT,  1919,  BY  DENMAN  W.  ROSS 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 

GIFT 


PREFACE 

In  taking  up  the  practice  of  painting,  it  is  a  question  what  pig- 
ments to  use,  how  to  arrange  them  on  the  palette,  and  then 
how  to  use  the  palette.  Following  the  example  of  most  paint- 
ers, we  take  certain  pigments;  blacks,  browns,  reds,  yellows, 
greens,  blues,  and  whites;  and,  putting  them  in  a  row,  we  pro- 
ceed to  mix  them,  two  or  more  together,  quite  freely,  follow- 
ing our  visual  impressions  or  the  suggestions  of  the  imagina- 
tion. In  so  doing  we  hope  to  produce  results  and  effects  which 
will  be  appropriate  to  what  we  have  seen  or  to  the  ideas  we 
have  to  express.  There  is  no  principle  or  law  in  this  procedure 
and  the  effects  produced  depend,  in  every  case,  upon  the  taste 
and  judgment  of  the  performer;  who  is,  necessarily,  as  much 
concerned  with  the  problems  of  the  palette  as  he  is  with  the 
problem  of  his  Motif  or  Subject,  whether  it  is  well  chosen;  of 
his  Design,  whether  it  is  consistent;  or  of  his  Drawing,  whether 
it  is  true  or  expressive.  It  is  so  difficult  to  decide  what  to  do, 
in  view  of  the  great  number  and  variety  of  pigments,  and  the 
infinite  possibilities  of  mixing  them  together.  Most  painters 
get  over  the  difficulty  by  acquiring  a  habit  and  doing  the  same 
thing  repeatedly,  following  the  precedents  of  their  own  par- 
ticular practice,  whatever  it  happens  to  be. 

Considering  the  Art  of  Music  and  the  use  of  musical  instru- 
ments, it  seems  that  the  musician  has  a  great  advantage  over 
the  painter  in  having  a  fixed  scale  of  tones  and  definite  rules 
for  using  it,  —  rules  based  on  good  precedents  and  repre- 
senting the  practice  of  recognized  masters.  Thinking  of  musi- 
cal instruments  and  the  laws  of  Counterpoint  and  of  Harmony, 
the  question  comes  up  whether  it  may  not  be  possible  for  the 
painter  to  convert  his  palette  into  an  instrument  of  precision 
and  to  make  the  production  of  effects  of  light  and  color  a  well 
ordered  procedure,  —  a  procedure  which  everyone  can  under- 
stand and  follow.  If  this  is  possible,  the  mind  of  the  painter 


M144928 


vi  PREFACE 

may  be  released  from  the  problems  of  the  palette  and  de- 
voted, almost  wholly,  to  the  still  more  important  problems  of 
Subject,  Design,  and  Representation.  After  more  than  twenty 
years  given  to  the  consideration  of  this  question  and  to  exper- 
iments  in  the  use  of  set-palettes,  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  it 
is  perfectly  possible  to  make  of  the  painter's  palette  an  instru- 
ment of  precision,  —  an  instrument  which  will  serve  him  both 
as  a  mode  of  thought  and  means  of  expression.  He  will  then 
use  his  palette  very  much  as  the  musician  uses  his  voice  or  the 
violin  or  the  piano. 

Among  the  many  palette-systems  which  I  have  devised  and 
considered  there  are  two  which  seem  to  me  particularly  in- 
teresting and  promising.  One  of  these  systems  may  be  de- 
scribed as  the  System  of  a  Suitable  Triad  Repeated.  The  other 
may  be  described  as  the  System  of  the  Spectrum  Band  with 
Complementaries  in  Corresponding  Values. 

In  the  first  system;  a  certain  triad  of  colors,  a  triad  in  which 
there  is  a  complementary  balance,  is  repeated  at  equal  inter- 
vals of  the  Scale  of  Values  between  the  extremes  of  Black  and 
White.  There  are  four  triads  which  I  have  used  in  this  way : 
Red,  Yellow,  Blue;  Orange,  Green,  Violet;  Violet-Red,  Orange- 
Yellow,  Green-Blue;  Red-Orange,  Yellow-Green,  Blue-Violet. 
There  is  another  series  of  triads  in  which  the  colors  are  taken, 
not  at  equal  intervals  of  the  Scale  of  Values,  but  at  unequal 
intervals.  In  the  four  regular  triads  above  given,  the  colors 
are  taken  at  the  interval  of  the  fifth.  Taking  the  colors  at 
intervals  of  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth,  we  get  another  series 
of  triads,  with  complementary  balances,  —  a  series  which  I 
- .  have  used  and  found  extremely  interesting.  It  was  Mr.  H.  G. 
Maratta  who  first  suggested  them.  The  regular  triads  will  be 
generally  used;  the  others  as  they  may  be  required.  Taking  the 
regular  triad  Red,  Yellow,  Blue,  and  repeating  it  five  times 
between  the  extremes  of  Black  and  White,  we  get  the  pal- 
ette indicated  in  the  following  diagram: 


PREFACE 

[THE  RED-YELLOW-BLUE  1 

PALETTI 

White 

White 

White 

Red 

Yellow 

Blue 

Red 

Yellow 

Blue 

Red 

Yellow 

Blue 

Red 

Yellow 

Blue 

Red 

Yellow 

Blue 

Black 

Black 

Black 

vu 


In  using  this  palette  I  have  generally  followed  the  rule  of 
taking  the  colors  on  up-to-the-right  or  up-to-the-left  diago- 
nals, —  mixing  Red  with  a  higher  Yellow  and  Yellow  with  a 
higher  Blue;  or  Blue  with  a  higher  Yellow  and  Yellow  with  a 
higher  Red.  By  mixing  the  three  colors,  as  they  follow  one  an- 
other in  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  sequences,  I  get  neutrali- 
zations and  a  perfect  neutrality.  Occasionally  I  have  followed 
both  sequences  in  the  same  design  or  picture.  This  System  of  a 
Suitable  Triad  Repeated  is  very  fully  described  in  my  book, 
—  On  Drawing  and  Painting,  published  by  Houghton  Mifflin 
Company  in  1912. 

In  this  book,  which  is  published  as  a  supplement,  I  propose 
to  describe  and  explain  the  System  of  the  Spectrum  Band 
with  Complementaries  in  Corresponding  Values.  I  have  had 
this  system  in  mind,  in  one  form  or  another,  for  more  than 
twenty  years,  and  I  have  followed  it,  off  and  on,  during  all 
that  time;  following  it  for  a  while  and  then,  preferring  the 
System  of  a  Suitable  Triad  Repeated,  giving  it  up.  During 
the  past  five  years,  however,  I  have  used  it  almost  exclu- 
sively; and,  in  its  present  form,  it  seems  to  me  the  better  sys- 
tem of  the  two.  It  is  much  more  logical  in  theory  and  much 
easier  to  follow  in  practice.  The  most  serious  difficulty  will 
be  found  in  the  setting  of  the  palette;  in  deciding  what  pig- 
ments to  use,  in  preparing  the  tones  and  in  getting  the  com- 
plementaries properly  adjusted,  to  produce  the  required  neu- 
tralizations and  a  perfect  neutrality.  It  is  only  a  master  who 
can  produce  a  satisfactory  palette  which  will  be  the  instru- 


viii  PREFACE 

ment  of  precision  that  we  want.  In  the  effort  to  produce  such 
an  instrument,  however,  the  student  will  get  a  very  valuable 
training  which  will  give  him,  in  some  degree,  the  power  of  dis- 
crimination in  tone-relations  which,  if  he  hopes  to  become  a 
master,  he  must  have.  The  student  who  follows  carefully  the 
indications  and  directions  given  in  this  book  ought  to  be  able, 
in  due  time,  to  set  his  palette  correctly  and  to  use  it  prop- 
erly. After  that,  it  will  be  a  question  whether  he  has  any  good 
reason  for  using  it;  whether  he  has  anything  to  express  that 
will  be  worth  while. 

I  am  not  asking  the  painter  to  give  up  the  System  of  a  Suit- 
able Triad  Repeated  if  he  has  been  using  it  with  success.  The 
system  has  its  value  and  I  can  very  well  understand  how  it 
may  be  preferred;  I  have  so  often  preferred  it  myself.  I  am 
simply  asking  him  to  consider  the  system  which  is  described 
and  explained  in  this  book,  and  to  give  it  a  fair  trial.  He  will 
then  be  in  a  position  to  decide  which  of  the  two  systems  he 
prefers.  In  my  own  experience  and  judgement,  the  System  of 
the  Spectrum  Band  with  Complementaries  in  Corresponding 
Values  is  the  better  of  the  two. 


THE  PAINTEE'S  PALETTE 


THE  PAINTERS  PALETTE 

INTRODUCTION 
TERMINOLOGY,  DEFINITIONS 

TONES 

With  pigments  and  pigment-mixtures  we  are  able  to  produce 
a  great  number  and  variety  of  effects,  —  effects  of  light  and 
of  color,  which  we  call  the  tones  of  the  palette. 

In  every  tone  thus  produced  there  are  two  elements :  there 
is  the  quantity  of  light  in  the  tone  that  we  call  its  value,  and 
the  quality  of  light  in  the  tone  that  we  call  its  color.  The 
quantity  of  light  in  any  tone  and  its  color  depend  upon  the 
pigments  which  we  use  in  producing  it.  When  two  or  more 
pigments  are  used,  the  tone  depends,  not  only  on  the  pig- 
ments but  on  the  quantities  and  proportions  of  them  that 
are  used. 

VALUES 

We  have  in  black  pigments  (Blk);  in  the  pigment  Blue 
Black,  for  example;  the  least  quantity  and  the  lowest  value 
of  light.  In  white  pigments  (Wt) ;  in  Zinc  White,  for  example; 
we  have  the  greatest  quantity  and  the  highest  value  of  light. 
All  other  quantities  or  values  available  for  the  Art  of  Painting 
lie  between  these  extremes.  At  the  half-point  between  the 
extremes  we  have  a  half-tone  or  Middle  value  (M) ;  half  way 
between  Black  and  Middle  we  have  a  value  which  we  call 
Dark  (D);  half  way  between  Middle  and  White  we  have  a 
value  which  we  call  Light  (Lt).  Between  the  five  values  thus 
defined  we  have  four  more  which  may  be  described,  beginning 
with  the  lowest,  as  Low  Dark  (LD),  High  Dark  (HD),  Low 


2  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

Light  (LLt),  and  High  Light  (HLt).  There  are  intermediates 
between  these  nine  values  which  we  are  constantly  using  but 
they  need  no  names,  as  we  rarely,  if  ever,  have  occasion  to 
speak  of  them  or  to  write  about  them. 


THE  SCALE  OF  VALUES 


White 

CWt) 

High  Light 

(HLt) 

Light 

(Lt) 

Low  Light 

(LLt) 

Middle 

(M) 

High  Dark 

(HD) 

Dark 

(D) 

Low  Dark 

(LD) 

Black 

(Blk) 

There  are  thirty-six  contrasts  which  may  be  produced 
between  one  value  and  another  of  this  scale;  as  follows: 


CONTRASTS  OF  THE  SCALE  OF  VALUES 


Wt  -l 
HLt 
Lt 
LLt 

M 
HD 
D 
LD 
Blk-" 


] 


J] 


JJJ] 


J] 


J] 


COLORS 
The  quality  of  light  in  any  tone,  its  color,  may  be  Red  (R), 
Yellow  (Y)  or  Blue  (B);  or  it  may  be  Orange  (O),  Green  (G) 
or  Violet  (V) ;  or  it  may  be  one  of  the  intermediates,  Red- 
Orange  (RO),  Orange-Yellow  (OY),  Yellow-Green  (YG), 
Green-Blue  (GB),  Blue-Violet  (BV),  Violet-Red  (VR). 


'<-: 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  3 

THE  SCALE  OF  COLORS 
R       RO       O       OY       Y       YG       G       GB        B        BV       V       VR 

The  Scale  of  Colors  appears  in  the  Spectrum  Band.  The 
colors  appear  also  in  pigments  of  high  intensity:  in  English 
Vermilion,  Orange  Vermilion,  Cadmium  Orange,  Cadmium 
Yellow,  Lemon  Yellow,  Vert  Emeraude,  Cerulean  Blue, 
Cobalt  Blue,  and  French  Ultramarine,  in  Madder  and  Aliza- 
rin reds.  They  appear,  also,  in  natural  objects  of  high  color- 
intensity,  —  in  minerals  and  in  precious  stones,  in  leaves  and 
flowers,  in  the  wings  of  butterflies,  and  in  the  feathers  of 
birds. 

Any  one  of  the  twelve  colors  may  be  more  or  less  neutralized 
or  even  completely  neutralized  by  its  complementary.  The 
complete  neutralization  of  any  color  gives  us  what  we  call 
Neutrality  (N).  The  complementaries  which  neutralize  and 
consequently  balance  one  another  are,  approximately,  Red 
and  Green,  Red-Orange  and  Green-Blue,  Orange  and  Blue, 
Orange- Yellow  and  Blue-Violet,  Yellow  and  Violet,  Yellow- 
Green  and  Violet-Red,  Green  and  Red,  Green-Blue  and  Red- 
Orange,  Blue  and  Orange,  Blue- Violet  and  Orange- Yellow, 
Violet  and  Yellow,  Violet-Red  and  Yellow-Green.  These  are 
the  colors  which,  being  mixed  together,  give  us  neutraliza- 
tions and  Neutrality.  Complementary  colors  occur  in  the 
Scale  of  Colors  at  the  interval  of  the  seventh,  approximately. 

COMPLEMENTARY  COLORS 

AT  THE  INTERVAL  OF  THE  SEVENTH 


1 


V   VR   R   RO   O   OY   Y   YG   G   GB   B   BV   "V 

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j 

i 

i 

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4  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

In  saying  that  certain  colors,  Red  and  Green  for  example, 
are  complementaries  we  must  recognize  the  fact  that  these 
colors  are  variable  under  their  terms  or  names.  In  pigments 
and  on  palettes,  for  instance,  the  complementaries  are  a  par- 
ticular red  and  a  particular  green  which,  being  mixed,  produce 
a  colorless  gray.  As  the  Red  varies  towards  Orange,  the  Green, 
to  be  a  true  complementary,  must  vary  towards  Blue.  As  the 
Green  varies  towards  Yellow  the  Red  must  vary  towards 
Violet.  It  follows  that,  having  established  on  the  palette  a 
certain  Red,  the  complementary  will  be  the  particular  Green 
which  will  neutralize  it;  or  having  established  on  the  palette 
a  certain  Green,  its  complementary  will  be  the  particular 
Red  which  will  neutralize  it;  whatever  that  Red  may  be.  The 
same  is  true  of  all  complementaries :  they  must  neutralize  and 
so  balance  one  another  perfectly.  We  must  be  careful  not  to 
be  influenced  by  the  words  or  names  we  use  and  the  effects 
which  may  be  associated  in  our  minds  with  those  words  or 
names.  If,  thinking  of  Red  as  the  effect  of  English  Vermilion 
and  of  Green  as  the  color  of  green  grass,  we  produce  tones  to 
express  these  ideas,  we  shall  produce  a  Red  and  a  Green  which 
will  not  be  complementaries.  The  mixture  of  a  hot  Red  and  a 
relatively  warm  Grass-Green  will  give  us,  not  a  colorless  gray, 
but  a  red-brown  or  a  green-brown,  as  we  use  more  of  the  Red 
or  more  of  the  Green  in  the  mixture.  No  colors  are  comple- 
mentary on  the  Palette  which  do  not,  when  mixed  together, 
produce  a  perfect  neutral.  When  the  complementaries  are  un- 
equally intense,  one  being  stronger  in  color  than  the  other, 
the  neutral  will  be  obtained  by  an  unequal  mixture:  more 
Red  than  Green,  for  example,  or  more  Green  than  Red. 

HOT  AND  COLD  COLORS 

Considering  the  different  colors  produced  by  pigments  and 
pigment-mixtures  we  feel  that  some  of  them  are  relatively 
Hot  (H)  and  others  relatively  Cold  (C);  that  between  the 
extremes  there  are  colors  which  are  half-hot  and  half-cold 
(HJC).  The  hottest  of  all  colors  is  a  Red-Orange,  when  it  is 
pure  and  intense;  as  intense  as  possible.  The  coldest  of  all 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


colors  is  a  Green-Blue  when  it  is  as  pure  and  as  intense  as 
possible.  Violet  is  relatively  half -hot  and  half -cold;  Yellow  is 
relatively  half-hot  and  half-cold.  Violet-Red  and  Orange- 
Yellow  are,  accordingly,  in  the  first  degree  of  heat;  Yellow- 
Green  and  Blue- Violet  in  the  first  degree  of  cold.  Red  and 
Orange  are  in  the  second  degree  of  heat;  Green  and  Blue  in 
the  second  degree  of  cold.  Red-Orange,  the  hottest  of  all  the 
colors,  is  in  the  third  degree  of  heat  and  Green-Blue,  the 
coldest  of  all  colors,  is  in  the  third  degree  of  cold.  Neutrality, 
the  result  of  mixing  complementaries,  is  half-hot  and  half- 
cold,  like  Violet  and  like  Yellow. 

THE  COLORS  IN  PIGMENTS  AND  PIGMENT-MIXTURES 

RED  (R) 

Red,  the  color  which  we  see  in  rubies,  appears  in  a  variety 
of  pigments  and  pigment-mixtures.  The  mixture  of  Indian 
Red,  Chinese  or  English  Vermilion,  and  a  little  Madder  or 
Alizarin  Crimson  gives  a  fine  quality  of  Red.  A  touch  of 
French  Ultramarine  is  sometimes  desirable.  Red  occurs  in  the 
value  High  Dark,  approximately,  and  is  neutralized  by  a 
Green  of  the  same  value,  —  a  Green  which  may  be  produced 
by  a  mixture  of  Vert  Emeraude  (Green  Oxide  of  Chromium, 
Transparent)  with  a  very  small  amount  of  Zinc  White.  Green 
is  the  clear  cool  color  we  see  in  the  emerald;  a  color  which 
cannot  be  produced  by  the  mixture  of  Vert  Emeraude  with 
Lemon  Yellow,  the  mixture  commonly  used.  A  mixture  of 
Cerulean  Blue  with  Lemon  Yellow  comes  very  near  to  it. 

RED-ORANGE  (RO) 

Red-Orange  is  seen  in  a  high  degree  of  intensity  in  the  mix- 
ture of  English  or  Chinese  Vermilion  and  Orange  Vermilion. 
Red-Orange  occurs  in  the  value  Middle,  approximately,  and 
is  neutralized  by  a  Green-Blue  of  the  same  value,  which  may 
be  produced  by  the  pigment  Cerulean  Blue.  A  good  imitation 
of  Cerulean  Blue  may  be  produced  by  a  mixture  of  French 
Ultramarine,  Vert  Emeraude  and  Zinc  White. 


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0  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

ORANGE  (O) 

The  color  Orange  is  well  represented  by  a  mixture  of  Orange 
Vermilion  and  Lemon  Yellow.  The  color  Orange  occurs  in 
the  value  Low  Light,  approximately,  and  is  neutralized  by 
Blue;  a  blue  which  may  be  produced  by  French  Ultramarine  or 
Cobalt  with  enough  Zinc  White  to  bring  it  to  the  value  Low 
Light.  If  Cadmium  Orange  is  used  to  represent  Orange  the 
Blue  which  will  neutralize  it  must  be  a  Violet-Blue.  I  rarely 
use  either  Cadmium  Orange  or  Cadmium  Yellow.  They  are 
too  strong,  too  intense,  to  be  satisfactorily  neutralized  by  any 
Blue  or  Blue-Violet  we  are  able  to  produce  in  corresponding 
values. 

ORANGE-YELLOW  (OY) 

The  color  Orange-Yellow  may  be  produced  by  a  mixture 
of  Orange  Vermilion  and  Lemon  Yellow.  Orange-Yellow 
occurs  in  the  value  Light,  approximately,  and  is  neutralized 
by  a  Blue-Violet  in  the  same  value;  a  Blue-Violet  which  may 
be  produced  by  a  mixture  of  French  Ultramarine,  Mars 
Violet  or  Indian  Red,  and  Zinc  White. 

YELLOW  (Y) 

The  color  Yellow  occurs  just  as  we  want  it  in  the  pigment 
called  Lemon  Yellow  (Barium  Chromate).  It  occurs,  also,  in 
Strontian  Yellow  and  in  Zinc  Yellow  with  a  touch  of  White. 
A  little  White  may  be  used  with  any  of  these  yellow  pigments, 
to  give  them  a  better  consistency  and  a  more  delicate  quality. 
Yellow  occurs  in  the  value  High  Light,  approximately,  and  is 
neutralized  by  a  Violet  in  the  same  value;  a  Violet  which  may 
be  produced  by  a  mixture  of  French  Ultramarine  and  Mars 
Violet  or  Indian  Red  and  Zinc  White. 

Madder  or  Alizarin  Crimson  might  be  used  with  French 
Ultramarine  and  Zinc  White  in  producing  Violet  in  High 
Light,  but  the  Madder  and  Alizarin  Reds  fade  out  when  used 
with  a  considerable  quantity  of  White.  For  this  reason  it  will 
be  better  to  use  Mars  Violet  or  Indian  Red.  The  Madder  and 


l*^lfcfe 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  7 

Alizarin  Reds  are  particularly  good  for  glazing.  They  are  not 
so  satisfactory  when  they  are  used  in  mixtures  with  more  solid 
pigments. 

Cobalt  Violet  (Violet  de  Cobalt)  might  be  used  with  Zinc 
White  to  represent  Violet  in  High  Light  but  in  that  case  it 
would  be  necessary  to  give  up  the  use  of  a  steel  palette  knife. 
Cobalt  Violet  is  a  very  fine  pigment  but  its  quality  is  de- 
stroyed by  contact  with  iron. 

YELLOW-GREEN  (YG) 

The  color  Yellow-Green  is  seen  in  a  mixture  of  Vert  Emer- 
aude  with  Barium,  Strontian  or  Zinc  Yellow,  and  a  little  Zinc 
White.  Yellow-Green  occurs  in  the  value  Light,  approxi- 
mately, and  may  be  neutralized,  in  the  same  value,  by  a  mix- 
ture of  Mars  Violet  or  Indian  Red  with  French  Ultramarine 
and  Zinc  White,  —  enough  White  to  pull  the  mixture  up  to 
the  value  Light.  The  neutralization  of  "Yellow-Green"  by 
"Violet-Red"  is  often  unsatisfactory;  the  result  of  the  mix- 
ture being  a  warm  brown  instead  of  a  neutral  gray.  That  is 
because  both  the  Yellow-Green  and  the  Violet-Red  are  made 
too  hot,  —  too  much  yellow  or  too  strong  or  too  warm  a 
yellow  (OY)  being  used  in  the  Yellow-Green,  and  too  much 
red  or  too  intense  and  hot  a  red  in  the  Violet-Red.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  Yellow-Green  is  a  cool,  not  a  hot  color.  It  is 
one  degree  cold  and  Violet-Red  is  one  degree  hot,  according 
to  the  theory  on  which  we  are  procee&ng. 

GREEN  (G) 

The  color  Green,  which  we  should  recognize  in  green  jade 
and  in  emeralds,  is  seen  in  a  mixture  of  Vert  Emeraude  with 
a  little  Zinc  White.  Vert  Eaaeraude,  which  is  the  best  pigment 
we  have  for  greens,  is  so  low  in  value  that  we  are  obliged  to  use 
White  to  pull  it  up  to  Low  Light  in  which  value  its  color  is 
fully  revealed.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Green  is  a  cold 
color.  It  comes,  in  the  scale,  next  to  Green-Blue,  the  coldest 
of  all  colors.  Green  in  its  full  intensity  is  seen  in  the  value  Low 
Light,  approximately,  and  it  is  neutralized  by  a  Red  of  the 


J 


8  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

same  value;  a  Red  which  may  be  produced  by  a  mixture  of 
English  or  Chinese  Vermilion  with  a  little  Zinc  White;  enough 
White  to  raise  the  tone  to  Low  Light. 

GREEN-BLUE  (GB) 

The  color  Green-Blue  is  seen,  very  nearly  right,  in  the  pig- 
ment called  Cerulean  Blue;  or  in  a  mixture  of  French  Ultra- 
marine and  Vert  Emeraude  with  Zinc  White.  Green-Blue 
occurs  in  the  value  Middle,  approximately,  and  is  neutralized 
by  a  Red-Orange  in  the  same  value;  a  Red-Orange  which 
may  be  produced  by  a  mixture  of  English  or  Chinese  Ver- 
milion with  Orange  Vermilion. 

BLUE  (B) 

The  color  Blue  occurs,  approximately,  in  the  pigment  called 
Cobalt.  A  light  Cobalt  is  to  be  preferred  to  a  dark  Cobalt. 
The  mixture  of  French  Ultramarine  with  a  little  Vert  Emer- 
aude and  White  produces  a  good  Blue  but  I  prefer,  when  it  is 
possible,  to  get  the  tones  which  represent  the  Spectrum  Band, 
without  using  White.  It  is,  of  course,  necessary  to  use  White 
i^  in  producing  light  tones  of  dark  pigments.  White,  for  example, 
has  to  be  useH  with  Vert  Emeraude  to  produce  Green  in  the 
value  Low  Light.  Blue  belongs  in  High  Dark,  approxi- 
mately, and  is  neutralized  and  balanced  by  an  Orange  in  the 
same  value,  an  Orange  which  may  be  produced  by  a  mixture 
of  Burnt  Sienna  with  a  little  Orange  Vermilion. 

BLUE-VIOLET  (BV) 

The  color  Blue-Violet  is  seen  in  a  mixture  of  French  Ultra- 
marine, Mars  Violet  or  Indian  Red,  and  Madder  or  Alizarin 
Crimson  with  a  very  little  Zinc  White  to  raise  the  value  of  the 
mixture  and  to  reveal  its  color-quality.  Blue-Violet  occurs  in 
the  value  Dark,  approximately,  and  is  neutralized  by  a  tone 
of  Orange-Yellow,  in  the  same  value,  which  may  be  produced 
by  a  mixture  of  Light  or  Venetian  Red  with  Vert  Emeraude. 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  9 

VIOLET  (V) 

The  color  Violet  is  seen  in  the  mixture  of  French  Ultra- 
marine Blue,  Mars  Violet  or  Indian  Red  and  a  little  Madder 
or  Alizarin  Crimson.  Violet  occurs  in  the  value  Low  Dark, 
approximately,  just  above  Black,  and  is  neutralized  by  an 
extremely  reduced  Yellow,  which  may  be  produced  by  a  mix- 
ture of  Van  Dyck  Brown  and  Vert  Emeraude.  A  little  White 
may  be  used  with  these  mixtures  to  raise  the  value  and  to 
reveal  the  color;  I  prefer,  however,  not  to  use  White  in  pro- 
ducing dark  tones.  It  seems  to  spoil  their  quality. 

VIOLET-RED  (VR) 

The  color  Violet-Red  is  seen  in  a  mixture  of  Indian  Red  or 
Mars  Violet  with  Madder  or  Alizarin  Crimson  and  a  little 
French  Ultramarine.  Violet-Red  is  not  a  hot  color.  It  is  as 
much  cooler  than  Red  as  Red  is  cooler  than  Red-Orange. 
Violet-Red  occurs  in  the  value  Dark,  approximately.  It  is 
neutralized  by  a  Yellow-Green  which  may  be  produced  by  a 
mixture  of  French  Ultramarine  and  Vert  Emeraude  with  just 
enough  Yellow  Ochre  to  turn  it  from  Green-Blue  to  Yellow- 
Green. 

The  order  in  which  the  colors  have  been  defined  and  de- 
scribed is  the  order  in  which  they  occur  in  the  Spectrum  Band; 
where  the  first  color  is  clearly  Red  and  the  last  color  a  sugges- 
tion of  Violet-Red.  The  mixtures  which  I  have  proposed  for 
the  different  colors  and  for  their  complementaries  may  be 
improved,  no  doubt;  and  other  mixtures  may  be  preferred,  in 
view  of  particular  effects  to  be  produced.  It  is  important, 
hoMever,  to  have  in  mind  a  certain  mixture  and  standard  for 
ea™  color  and  a  mixture  and  standard  for  its  complementary 
in  the  same  value.  After  that,  if  there  is  any  departure  from 
the  standard  there  must  be  a  good  reason  for  it. 

The  twelve  colors,  as  we  see  and  recognize  them  in  Nature, 
vary  indefinitely.  They  are  sometimes  bright  and  intense, 
sometimes  dull  and  neutral.  So  on  the  palette.  It  is  not  always 
necessary  or  desirable  to  produce  the  colors  of  the  palette  in 


10  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

a  high  degree  of  intensity.  It  will  often  happen  that  a  dull  and 
neutral  palette  will  serve  the  painter  quite  as  well,  if  not 
better,  than  one  in  which  the  colors,  being  unnecessarily  in- 
tense, must  be  constantly  neutralized.  Having  no  occasion 
to  use  intense  colors,  it  is  a  good  thing  to  neutralize  all  the 
colors  of  the  palette  before  beginning  to  use  them,  or  to  use 
dull  and  neutral  pigments  in  producing  them.  It  will  be  de- 
sirable in  many  cases,  to  produce  the  Reds  and  Oranges  of  the 
palette  without  using  Madders  or  Vermilion;  using  simply 
Mars  Violet,  Indian  Red,  Venetian  Red  or  Light  Red,  and 
Ochre  Yellows.  The  Madders  and  Vermilions  should  be  used 
only  when  required.  For  Blues  and  Greens,  it  is  often  possible 
to  use  Blue  Black  and  White,  with  a  very  small  quantity  of 
French  Ultramarine  or  Vert  Emeraude.  The  Old  Masters 
used  the  mixture  of  Black  and  White  for  Blue  constantly. 
The  tones  of  the  palette  should  in  all  cases  be  appropriate  to 
the  end  in  view.  A  neutral  palette  should  be  prepared  for 
neutral  effects. 

LIST  OF  PIGMENTS 

The  pigments  which  may  be  used  in  producing  the  tones 
of  the  palette  are  put  down  in  the  following  list:  — 

Zinc  White. 

Rose  Madder,  or  Alizarin  Crimson;  particularly  good  for 

glazing. 
Mars  Violet. 
Indian  Red. 

English  or  Chinese  Vermilion. 
Venetian  or  Light  Red. 
Orange  Vermilion. 
Burnt  Sienna;  very  good  for  glazing. 
Cadmium  Orange. 
Van  Dyck  Brown. 

Raw  Sienna  or  Mars  Yellow;  particularly  good  for  glazing. 
Yellow  Ochre. 
Cadmium  Yellow. 
Aureolin;  good  for  glazing. 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  11 

Zinc  Yellow. 

Lemon  Yellow  (Barium  Chromate),  or  Strontian  Yellow. 

Vert  Emeraude  (Green  Oxide  of  Chromium,  Transparent); 

good  for  glazing. 
Cerulean  Blue. 
Cobalt  Blue. 

French  Ultramarine  Blue. 
Blue  Black. 

There  are  many  good  pigments  which  are  not  on  this  list. 
It  contains  only  those  which  I  am  in  the  habit  of  using,  which 
I  know  well,  and  am  willing  to  recommend. 

THE  PALETTE,  BRUSHES,  ETC. 

For  a  palette  procure  a  good-sized  sheet  of  transparent 
glass.  Setting  the  glass  upon  a  table  with  a  piece  of  white 
cloth  or  white  paper  under  it,  you  will  have  the  best  possible 
ground  and  surface  for  your  tones;  and  it  is  a  surface  which 
you  can  keep  clean,  very  easily.  The  advantage  of  having 
your  tones  on  an  even  white  surface  will  be  at  once  appreci- 
ated. Accidental  contrasts  will  be  avoided  and  differences  of 
value  and  of  color  in  the  tones  more  easily  estimated. 

In  addition  to  the  palette  and  the  pigments  a  palette  knife 
will  be  required  and  some  brushes.  The  best  palette  knife 
will  be  a  small  one  unless  you  are  mixing  up  a  great  deal  of 
paint.  The  brushes  should  not  be  too  large  or  too  small  but 
suited  to  the  purpose  in  every  case;  small  brushes  for  small 
work,  large  brushes  for  large  work.  Some  of  them  should  be 
of  sable,  some  of  bristles;  some  flat  and  some  round.  The 
brushes  should  be  washed  out  constantly,  as  fast  as  they  get 
dirty,  in  a  can  of  rectified  turpentine  kept  alongside  of  the 
palette  and  conveniently  within  reach.  The  cans  which  have 
a  grating  upon  which  to  rub  the  brushes  when  you  are  clean- 
ing them  are  the  best.  The  turpentine  should  be  of  superior 
quality  as  some  of  it  will  remain  in  the  brushes  and  find  its 
way  into  your  painting.  It  is  a  good  plan  before  putting  the 
brushes  away  for  the  day  to  wash  them  with  a  good  soap. 


12  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

This  is  easily  done  when  the  paint  has  already  been  washed 
off  in  the  turpentine.  Brushes  kept  clean  and  in  good  condition 
will  last  for  a  long  time.  As  a  rule,  there  is  linseed  oil  enough 
in  the  pigments  to  make  a  good  medium,  with  the  small 
amount  of  turpentine  which  remains  in  the  brushes  when  they 
are  constantly  washed  out  in  it.  If  it  is  desirable  to  keep  the 
tones  on  the  palette  from  day  to  day,  the  palette,  which  is  of 
glass,  may  be  immersed  in  clear  water.  That  means  that  a 
metal  or  china  tray  large  enough  to  hold  the  glass  palette 
will  be  required.  When  the  palette  is  removed  from  the  water 
it  must  be  set  up  on  end  and  the  water  drained  off.  When  the 
palette  is  dry  it  may  be  necessary  to  moisten  the  tones  with  a 
little  linseed  oil  and  to  soften  them  with  a  palette  knife.  Only 
the  very  best  of  linseed  oil  should  be  used. 

THEORY  OF  TONE-RELATIONS 

It  appears  from  a  study  of  the  Spectrum  Band  and  the 
Scale  of  Colors  based  upon  it  that  there  are  two  ways  or 
modes  of  moving  from  Darkness  into  Light  through  the  colors; 
one  way  is  through  Red  up  to  Orange  and  from  Orange  up  to 
Yellow;  the  other  way  is  through  Blue  up  to  Green  and  from 
Green  up  to  Yellow.  The  starting  point  of  both  of  these  color 
movements  is  in  Violet;  a  Violet  which  is  seen  in  certain  pig- 
ments and  in  combinations  of  Red  and  Blue  pigments.  Violet 
may  be  regarded,  therefore,  as  the  least  luminous  of  colors. 
Both  movements  terminate  in  Yellow  which  appears  to  be 
the  most  luminous  of  colors.  Below  Violet  is  colorless  Dark- 
ness, represented  in  pigments  by  Black,  and  above  Yellow  is 
colorless  Light,  represented  in  pigments  by  White.  The  first 
of  the  two  color  movements,  the  Red-up-to-Orange  move- 
ment, is  relatively  hot;  the  other,  the  Blue-up-to-Green 
movement,  is  relatively  cold. 

The  two  movements  up  to  Light,  which  I  describe  on  facing 
page,  one  hot  (H),  the  other  cold  (C),  appear  in  the  Spectrum 
Band  in  contrary  motion.  The  hot  movement  meets  the  cold 
movement  in  the  Yellow  which  is  common  to  both;  but  the 
two  movements,  while  they  balance  one  another  in  this  way, 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  13 


THE  HOT  MOVEMENT 

THE  COLD  MOVEMENT 

UP  TO  LIGHT 

UP  TO  LIGHT 

Wt 

Wt 

Wt 

V 

HLt 

Y 

OY 

Lt 

YG 

0 

LLt 

G 

RO 

M 

GB 

R 

HD 

B 

VR 

D 

BV 

V 

LD 

V 

Blk 

Blk 

Blk 

in  contrary  motion,  are  not  in  themselves  balanced  as  they 
should  be  by  the  complementaries  which  are  required  for 
neutralizations.  Yellow  is  not  neutralized  by  Yellow,  Orange- 
Yellow  is  not  neutralized  by  Yellow-Green  nor  Orange  by 
Green;  Violet  is  not  neutralized  by  Violet,  Violet-Red  is  not 
neutralized  by  Blue- Violet  nor  is  Red  neutralized  by  Blue. 
It  is  only  when  we  reach  Red-Orange  in  one  movement  and 
Green-Blue  in  the  other  that  we  get  the  possibility  of  a  neu- 
tralization and  a  balance.  In  order  to  neutralize  and  to  bal- 
ance the  movement  up  to  Light,  which  is  hot,  we  have  to  set 
against  it  an  inversion  of  the  movement,  which  is  cold.  In 
order  to  neutralize  and  balance  the  movement  up  to  Light, 
which  is  cold,  we  have  to  set  against  it  an  inversion  of  the 
movement,  which  is  hot. 

In  the  Spectrum  Band  Red  is  the  initial  color.  The  other 
colors  follow  in  the  order  as  described.  Beyond  Violet 
there  is  a  suggestion  of  Violet-Red  and  of  a  return  into  the 
Light;  so,  we  guess,  a  recurrence  of  Red  and  a  repetition  of 
the  Band.  It  is  a  question,  therefore,  whether  we  should  not, 
in  our  diagram,  begin  with  Red,  and,  reading  to  the  right 
through  Orange,  Yellow,  Green,  Blue  and  Violet  come  to  an 
end  in  a  Violet-Red.  The  reason  for  not  doing  this  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  the  Violet-Red  which  appears  at  the  end  of  the 
Spectrum  Band  has  more  light  in  it  and  is  higher  in  its  value 


■- 


14 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


than  the  preceding  Violet.  That  means  not  only  a  return  to- 
wards Red  but  a  return  from  Darkness  to  Light.  The  colors, 
including  Violet-Red,  being  set  in  the  values  in  which  they 
appear  in  the  Spectrum  Band,  we  get  a  very  perfect  system  of 
Value  and  Color  Balances;  appealing  equally  to  reason  and  to 
our  love  of  Order  and  Harmony. 


THE 

THEORY  OF  TONE  RELATIONS 

DARK 

LIGHT 

DARK 

H*C 

Cold                          C*H                          Hot 
THE  COMPLEMENTARIES 

HJC 

Y       YG 

G 

GB        B        BV       V        VR        R        RO 

0 

OY       Y 

N 

• 

N         .          .          . 

• 

N 

V       VR 

R 

RO       0       OY       Y       YG       G       GB 
THE  SPECTRUM  BAND 

B 

BV       V 

CiH 

Hot                          HJC                          Cold 

C$H 

DARK 

LIGHT 

DARK 

It  is  upon  this  theory  that  the  painter  should  prepare  his 
palette;  which  will  take  the  form  indicated  in  the  following 
diagram: 

THE  COMPLETE  PALETTE 

IHC 

Based  on  the  Theory  of  Tone  Relations  as  Indicated  in  the 
Preceding  Diagram 


Y  YG      G      GB      B      BV      V        V 

[Blk]  [Wt] 

V  VR     R     RO      O     OY      Y 


VR     R     RO      O     OY     Y 


[Blk] 


YG      G      GB      B     BV     V 


The  tones  of  this  palette  may  be  used  singly  or  in  up-and- 
down  mixtures  of  complementaries;  in  which  mixtures,  the 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  15 

colors,  being  complementary,  may  be  more  or  less  neutral- 
ized. 

Theoretically,  a  half-and-half  mixture  of  the  complemen- 
taries  should  produce  on  the  palette  a  line  of  perfect  neutrals 
passing  through  the  Scale  of  Values  from  Black,  representing 
extreme  darkness,  up  to  White,  representing  extreme  light, 
and  from  White  down  to  Black.  Theoretically,  there  is  a  cen- 
tral horizontal  of  perfect  neutrality.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  how- 
ever, the  complementaries  will  rarely  be  so  perfectly  adjusted 
as  to  produce  in  a  half-and-half  mixture  a  perfect  neutrality. 
Varying  in  intensity,  one  being  more  intense  than  the  other, 
neutrality  is  likely  to  fall  on  one  side  or  the  other  of  the 
central  horizontal.  It  will  rarely  happen  that  the  line  of  neu- 
trality will  be  exactly  central  or  exactly  horizontal.  Using  pig- 
ments, as  they  come,  the  painter  will  find  it  extremely  diffi- 
cult, if  not  impossible,  to  produce  a  perfectly  adjusted  and 
perfectly  harmonized  instrument;  an  instrument  of  precision; 
but  he  must  try  constantly  to  produce  it,  and  he  may  possibly 
succeed.  In  the  effort  he  may  become  himself  an  instrument 
of  precision.  Then,  and  not  before,  will  he  be  able  to  produce 
a  palette  which  will  be  one.  Nothing  expresses  the  master 
more  clearly  and  unmistakably  than  his  palette  and  the  tones 
he  produces  upon  it.  Somebody  has  said,  "Show  me  his  pal- 
ette and  I  will  tell  you  whether  he  is  a  good  painter  or  not." 

The  neutralizations  and  neutrals  produced  by  the  mixture 
of  complementaries  are  far  more  interesting  than  any  neutrals 
which  can  be  produced  by  mixing  colors  with  Black  and 
White;  or  Black  and  White,  the  one  with  the  other.  The  vibra- 
tion of  the  complementary  particles  gives  to  these  neutraliza- 
tions, and  even  to  what  appears  to  be  a  perfect  neutrality,  an 
unmistakable  liveliness.  The  tones  of  colors  when  mixed  with 
Black  and  White  and  the  tones  of  Black  and  White  when  they 
are  mixed  together  are  relatively  dull  and  lifeless.  The  more 
or  less  neutral  tones  produced  by  the  mixture  of  complemen- 
taries suggest,  unmistakably,  the  effects  of  light  and  color 
which  we  see  in  Nature;  which  is  a  good  and  sufficient  reason 
for  preferring  them. 


16  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

The  intermediate  neutrals  produced  by  the  cross-mixing 
of  complementaries  make,  with  Black  and  White,  a  scale  of 
neutral  values  which  will  be  a  far  more  interesting  scale  to 
use  than  any  that  can  be  produced  by  mixtures  of  black  and 
white  pigments.  With  the  scale  of  colors  neutralized  by  com- 
plementaries grisaille  effects  may  be  produced  in  which  the 
play  of  complementary  particles  will  give  life  and  variety  to 
the  tones  of  gray  and  will  suggest  the  colors  which  might  have 
appeared  had  they  been  permitted  to  do  so.  The  drawing  and 
composition  being  established  in  grisaille,  the  grisaille  being 
allowed  to  become  dry  and  solid,  we  have  a  very  good  basis 
upon  which  to  proceed  to  the  coloring.  In  all  serious  under- 
takings this  is  the  proper  procedure;  to  get  the  drawing  and 
composition  settled  in  terms  of  neutrality  before  going  on  to 
the  coloring;  which  is  sufficiently  difficult,  when  we  get  to  it, 
to  require  all  our  interest  and  attention. 

It  is  a  serious  objection  to  the  mixtures  of  black  and  white 
pigments  that  the  tones  produced  are  not  neutral.  The  use  of 
black  charcoal  on  white  paper  produces  perfectly  neutral 
tones,  half  hot  and  half  cold,  but  no  neutral  tones  can  be 
obtained  by  the  mixture  of  black  and  white  pigments.  The 
tones  so  produced  suggest  Blue  or  Violet  unmistakably,  and 
they  have  been  used  to  represent  those  colors.  Leonardo  da 
Vinci  speaks  of  the  azure  tones  of  Black  and  White.  Instead 
of  using  Black  with  White  to  produce  a  scale  of  neutral  values 
it  is  better  to  use  a  mixture  of  Black  with  Burnt  Sienna,  Van 
Dyck  Brown,  or  some  other  dark  brown  pigment,  which  mix- 
ture, when  combined  with  White,  will  give  really  neutral  tones; 
half  hot  and  half  cold.  The  true  and  righteous  neutrals,  how- 
ever, are  those  which  are  produced  by  the  mixture  of  comple- 
mentary colors  in  the  values  in  which  these  colors  naturally 
and  properly  occur. 

Referring  to  the  diagram  of  the  Complete  Palette  (I  HC) : 
in  case  a  tone  below  the  value  of  Low  Dark  is  required  Black 
may  be  used.  In  case  a  tone  above  the  value  of  High  Light  is 
required  White  may  be  used;  and  there  is  no  objection,  in 
practice,  to  the  mixture  of  Black  with  Low  Dark  Yellow  and 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


17 


Violet  or  to  the  mixture  of  High  Light  Violet  and  Yellow  with 
White.  As  a  rule,  however,  the  mixture  of  High  Light  Violet 
and  High  Light  Yellow  gives  a  neutral  high  enough  in  value 
to  represent  and  suggest  White.  When  that  is  the  case  there 
is  no  occasion  for  using  White. 

In  describing  any  tone  it  is  necessary,  first,  to  name  the 
value  of  it,  then  the  color  of  it,  and  lastly  the  degree  of  inten- 
sity in  which  the  color  appears.  For  example  High  Dark  Red, 
one-half  (HD-R  i)  means  Red  in  the  value  High  Dark,  half 
intensity.  Low  Light  Blue,  three-quarters  (LLt-B  })  means 
Blue  in  the  value  Low  Light,  three-quarters  intensity.  In  this 
way  we  get  a  terminology  for  the  tones  of  the  palette  which 
will  serve  our  purpose  when  we  have  occasion  to  speak  of  them 
or  to  write  about  them. 

The  tones  of  the  Complete  Palette  (I  HC)  may  be  mixed, 
not  only  on  vertical  but  also  on  horizontal  and  on  diagonal 
lines;  the  principle  and  rule  of  mixing  complementaries  only, 
being  maintained;  but  somewhat  less  strictly.  The  lines  upon 
which  mixtures  may  be  made  are  shown  in  the  following 
Diagram: 

PALETTE 
I  HC 

WITH  AN  INDICATION  OF  POSSIBLE  MIXTURES 


Y     YG     G     GB     B     BV     V        V     VR     R     BO     O     OY     Y 


[Blk] 


VVWWV 


w 


Y     VR     R     RO     O     OY     Y        Y     YG     G     GB     B     BV    V 


The  tones  connected  by  vertical  lines  are  complementary. 
Mixtures  between  adjacents  on  horizontal  lines  of  the  same 
value  range  are  complementary  mixtures.  Mixtures  on  the 
diagonals  that  cross  one  another  are  complementary  mixtures. 
It  is  very  important  to  keep  the  mixtures  made  on  the  differ- 
ent lines  —  vertical,  horizontal  and  diagonal —  distinct.  There 
must  be  no  confusion  of  these  mixtures;  because  only  those 


18 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


which  are  approximately  complementary  should   be  cross- 
mixed  or  otherwise  combined. 

The  tones  of  Palette  I  HC ;  and  of  the  other  palettes  based 
upon  it  which  will  be  described  on  the  following  pages,  may 
be  mixed,  not  only  on  vertical,  horizontal  and  diagonal  lines, 
but  in  triads;  using,  in  each  case,  two  tones  which  are  comple- 
mentary with  a  third  tone  which  is  adjacent  to  one  of  them. 
Red-Orange  and  Green-Blue,  for  example,  may  be  mixed  with 
either  Red  or  Orange,  or  Green  or  Blue.  The  mixture  of  tones 
in  triads  will  be  described  more  particularly  further  on. 

OTHER  AND  SIMPLER  PALETTES 

Omitting  some  of  the  intermediates  and  their  complemen- 
taries  we  get  abbreviations  of  the  Complete  Palette  which 
will,  in  most  cases,  serve  the  painter  as  well,  if  not  better;  the 
intermediates  indicated  by  dots  being  obtainable,  in  some- 
what diminished  intensity,  by  mixtures  on  the  line  of  dots. 

In  the  following  diagrams  the  reader  will  see  what  I 
mean  when  I  speak  of  the  abbreviations  of  the  Complete 
Palette  (I  HC)  produced  by  the  omission  of  some  of  the 
complementary  oppositions. 

PALETTE 

n  hc 


Y       .       G       .       B       .       V  V       .       R 


/ 

[Blk] 

\ 


4 


o     . 


V       .       B       .       O       .       Y  Y       .       G 


B       . 


PALETTE 
III  HC 


.      YG      .      .      B      .      V 


.      VB      .      .      O      .      Y 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


19 


Plk] 


PALETTE 
IV  HC 


PALETTE 
V  HC 


Blk' 


YG 


VR 


•       • 


PALETTE 
VI  HC 

Y  V 

\/ 

71 

Y  Y 


OY 


BV 


'Blk 


[Blk] 


PALETTE 
VII  H|C 


PALETTE 
VIH  HC 

.    YG      .      GB      .      BV      .  .      VR      .      BO      .      OY 


Blk 


Wt 


VR      .      BO        •    OY  .      YG      .      GB      .      BV 


20 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


V       .      f       .       .      OY       .         .      YG      .      .      B      .       V 


.     VB       .       .       .       OY       .  .       YG       .       .       .       BV 


YG 


VB 


PALETTE 
XI  HC 


OY 


PALETTE 
XII  HC 


•  • 


There  are  many  other  simplifications  and  abbreviations  of 
Palette  I  HC ;  many  other  palettes  which  may  be  used.  There 
are  twelve  complementary  balances  in  Palette  I  HC.  The 
number  may  be  diminished  to  any  six  of  these  balances,  to 
any  five,  four,  three,  two,  or  even  one  of  them.  A  single  bal- 
ance of  complementaries  may  be  used  as  a  palette  with  the  pig- 
ments Black  and  White.  With  such  a  palette  the  expression 
of  form  is  perfectly  possible,  and  much  more  than  that  in 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  21 

some  cases.  Take,  for  example,  Middle  Red-Orange  and 
Green-Blue  with  Black  and  White.  With  this  palette  (Palette 
XII  HC)  it  is  possible,  not  only  to  represent  the  forms  of 
objects,  to  the  last  degree  of  specification,  but  to  suggest  the 
coloring;  whether  it  is  light  or  dark,  hot  or  cold,  intense  or 
neutral;  only  local  and  particular  colorings  being  missed.  I 
am  not  recommending  especially  the  palette  of  Middle  Red- 
Orange  and  Green-Blue  with  Black  and  White,  but  it  is  a 
palette  with  which  consistent  and  interesting  effects  of  light 
and  color  may  be  produced.  I  much  prefer  the  effects  pro- 
duced by  Palette  IV  HC  in  which  Red-Orange  and  Green- 
Blue  occur  in  Middle,  and  Yellow  and  Violet  in  Low  Dark 
and  in  High  Light. 

It  should  be  observed  that  as  the  diagonals  are  drawn  at 
wider  intervals  of  the  Scale  of  Values  they  are  drawn  at 
shorter  intervals  of  the  Scale  of  Colors.  On  diagonals  of  the 
interval  of  the  second  in  the  Scale  of  Values  we  get  a  mixture 
of  colors  which  in  the  Scale  of  Colors  occur  at  intervals  of  the 
sixth.  On  diagonals  of  the  interval  of  the  third  in  the  Scale 
of  Values  we  get  a  mixture  of  colors  which  in  the  Scale  of 
Colors  occur  at  the  intervals  of  the  fifth.  On  the  diagonals  of 
the  interval  of  the  fourth  in  the  Scale  of  Values  we  get  a  mix- 
ture of  colors  which  in  the  Scale  of  Colors  occur  at  the  interval 
of  the  fourth.  On  the  diagonals  of  the  interval  of  the  fifth 
in  the  Scale  of  Values  we  get  a  mixture  of  colors  which  in  the 
Scale  of  Colors  occur  at  the  interval  of  the  third.  On  the 
diagonals  of  the  interval  of  the  sixth  in  the  Scale  of  Values 
we  get  a  mixture  of  colors  which  in  the  Scale  of  Colors  occur 
at  the  interval  of  the  second.  On  the  diagonals  of  the  interval 
of  the  seventh  we  get  the  mixture  of  two  tones  of  the  same 
color.  In  view  of  these  considerations  it  is  evident  that  mixing 
the  tones  of  the  palette  on  the  diagonals  of  different  value 
intervals  we  get  tones  which  would  be  impossible  to  get 
using  only  mixtures  on  the  vertical  and  on  the  horizontal  lines 
of  the  palette. 

The  pigments  Black  and  White  may  be  used  in  all  of  these 
palettes,  either  as  Black  and  White  or  mixed;  Black  with  the 


22  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

lowest  tones  of  the  palette,  White  with  the  highest  tones. 
Where  there  is  only  one  complementary  balance  on  the 
palette,  as  in  Palette  XII  HC,  Black  is  used  to  pull  the  two 
tones,  Red-Orange  and  Green-Blue  for  example,  down  into 
darkness,  and  White  is  used  to  pull  them  up  to  light.  Instead 
of  using  black  pigments  which  are  relatively  cold  in  tone,  it 
is  wise  to  neutralize  the  Black  by  mixing  it  with  Van  Dyck 
Brown  or  Burnt  Sienna  or  some  other  dark  brown  pigment 
which  will  make  the  Black  of  the  palette  really  neutral,  — 
half-hot  and  half-cold. 

POSSIBLE  COMBINATIONS  OF  PALETTES 

Any  movement  up  to  Light  which  is  hot  (H)  may  be  com- 
bined in  contrary  motion,  with  any  movement  up  to  Light 
which  is  cold  (C).  The  two  movements  of  the  palette  are 
not  necessarily  symmetrical.  For  example;  the  H  movement 
of  Palette  V  may  be  set  in  contrary  motion  with  the  C  move- 
ment of  Palette  III,  with  Low  Dark  Violet  and  Yellow  sub- 
stituted for  Dark  Blue- Violet  and  Orange- Yellow,  as  follows: 


For  another  example;  the  hot  movement  of  Palette  IV  HC 
may  be  set  in  contrary  motion  with  the  cold  movement  of 
Palette  IX  HC. 


PALETTE 
IX  C 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


23 


In  this  case  the  mixtures  of  White  with  High  Light  Violet 
and  Light  Violet-Red,  and  the  mixtures  of  White  with  High 
Light  Yellow  and  Light  Yellow-Green  are  complementary, 
and  may  be  cross-mixed  or  otherwise  combined. 

Any  color  movement  up  to  Light  which  is  hot  (H)  may  be 
combined  in  contrary  motion  with  any  other  movement  up 
to  Light  which  is  hot  (H).  There  is  no  objection  to  asymmetri- 
cal combinations  of  this  description.    For  example: 


PALETTE 
V  H 

y     .     g     . 


BV 


PALETTE 

VIII  H 
GB       .      YG 


For  another  example: 

PALETTE 
X  H 

.   YG   .   .   .   BV 


PALETTE 
IV  HC 


GB 


It  is  possible  to  connect  the  color  movements  of  different 
palettes  through  Black,  representing  colorless  darkness,  as 
well  as  through  White,  representing  colorless  light;  so  that 
three  or  more  palettes,  —  an  indefinite  number  indeed,  —  may 
be  strung  together;  some  of  them  representing  the  movement 
up  to  Light  which  is  hot,  others  the  movement  which  is  cold. 
Such  a  combination  of  color  movements  has  a  theoretic  rather 
than  a  practical  value.  The  painter  is  expected  to  use,  in  every 
case,  the  simplest  palette  which  will  serve  his  purpose.  So 
doing,  it  will  rarely  happen  that  he  will  require  on  his  palette 
more  than  two  color  movements;  and  it  will  more  often  hap- 
pen that  he  will  require  only  one. 


24  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

THE  VERTICAL  SETTING  OF  PALETTES 

Instead  of  having  two  movements  set  in  contrary  motion, 
as  in  the  palettes  which  I  have  been  describing,  the  two  move- 
ments may  be  separated,  set  vertically  and  used  singly.  We 
shall  then  have  only  one  movement  in  each  palette;  either  a 
movement  up  to  Light  which  is  hot  or  a  movement  up  to 
Light  which  is  cold. 


PALETTE 

I  H 

[Wt] 

wt 

V 

Y 

RXt 

BV 

OY 

Lt 

B 

0 

LLt 

GB 

RO 

M 

G 

R 

HD 

YG 

VR 

D 

Y 

[Blk] 

V 

LD 

Blk 

PALETTE 

I  C 

[Wt] 

Y 

• 

V 

YG 

• 

VR 

G 

• 

R 

GB 

• 

RO 

B 

• 

0 

BV 

• 

OY 

V 

Y 

[Blk] 


For  the  sake  of  convenience;  to  give  space  on  the  palette 
for  each  mixture  so  that  there  will  be  no  confusion  of  mixtures; 
it  will  be  well  to  set  Palettes  I  H  and  I  C,  each  in  three 
columns;  duplicating,  in  that  case,  the  Yellow-up-to- Violet 
sequence  of  the  complementaries.  (See  facing  page.) 

In  Palette  I  H  we  have  the  movement  up  to  Light  which 
is  hot  (H)  in  the  center,  and  an  inversion  of  the  movement  up 
to  Light  which  is  cold  (C)  to  the  right  and  the  left  of  it.  In 
Palette  I  C  we  have  the  movement  up  to  Light  which  is  cold 
(C)  in  the  center,  and  an  inversion  of  the  movement  up  to 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


25 


PALETTE 
I  H 


PALETTE 
I  C 


EBDcl 


Wt 
HLt 

Lt 

LLt 

M 

HD 
D 
LD 
B!k 


[Blk] 


Light  which  is  hot  (H)  to  the  right  and  the  left  of  it.  Lines 
have  been  drawn;  horizontal,  vertical,  and  diagonal  to  indi- 
cate possible  mixtures.  The  tones  on  horizontal  lines  are  com- 
plementaries.  Mixtures  on  horizontal  lines  produce  neutrals. 
Mixtures  on  opposite  verticals,  having  the  same  range  of 
values,  are  complementary  mixtures.  Mixtures  on  diagonals 
having  the  same  range  of  values  are  also  complementary  mix- 
tures. These  diagonals  cross  one  another  in  opposite  directions 
when  the  palette  is  set  in  two  columns.  Being  set  in  three 
columns  the  opposite  and  crossing  diagonals  become  parallel. 
With  the  arrangement  of  these  palettes  in  three  columns  it  is 
possible  to  keep  the  mixtures  perfectly  distinct  and  to  recog- 
nize the  mixtures  and  tones  which  are  complementary.  This  is 
very  important  as  only  those  tones  and  mixtures  which  are 
complementary  neutralize  and  balance  one  another. 

Complementary  tones  may  be  combined  without  being 
mixed.  A  tone  or  mixture  may  be  put  on  the  canvas  as  a 
ground  tone  and  allowed  to  become  dry  and  solid.  The  com- 
plementary tone  or  mixture  may  be  then  scumbled  or  glazed 


26 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


over  the  ground  thus  prepared.  In  that  way  complementary 
tones  may  be  made  to  play  one  against  the  other,  neutralizing 
and  modifying  one  another,  without  being  mixed  at  all;  except 
in  the  eye  and  visual  feeling  of  the  beholder. 

The  tones  of  Palettes  I  H  and  I  C  may  be  mixed  not 
only  one  with  another  on  horizontal,  vertical  and  diagonal 
lines  but  also  in  triads,  each  triad  having  its  complementary 
on  the  other  side.  In  each  palette  there  will  be  two  sequences 
of  twelve  triads,  the  sequence  on  one  side  of  the  palette  being 
complementary  to  the  sequence  on  the  other  side.  Opposite 
triads  in  these  sequences  will  be  complementary.  Twelve 
(twice  six)  of  these  triads  will  be  relatively  hot  and  twelve 
(twice  six)  will  be  relatively  cold.  The  triads  which  are  com- 
plementary, hot  and  cold,  are  given  the  same  numbers,  as  is 
shown  in  the  following  diagram: 


PALETTE 
I  H 


PALETTE 
I  C 


[Wt] 


wt 


(Wt] 


HLt 


Lt 


LLt 


M 


HO 


LD 


IBIkJ 


BIk 


[BlkJ 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  27 

It  is  possible  to  use  the  sequence  of  hot  triads  (1H,  2H,  3H, 
etc.)  exclusively,  or  the  sequence  of  cold  triads  (1C,  2C,  3C, 
etc.)  exclusively,  or  the  hot  and  cold  triads  in  sequences  of 
alternation  (1C,  2H,  3C,  etc.  or  1H,  2C,  3H,  etc.).  It  is  pos- 
sible, also,  within  the  limitation  of  each  triad,  to  move  from 
hot  tones  up  to  cold  tones,  or  from  cold  tones  up  to  hot  tones, 
or  from  lower  neutrals  up  to  higher  colors,  or  from  lower 
colors  up  to  a  higher  neutrality.  It  is  possible,  also,  within  the 
limitations  of  each  triad  to  establish  not  only  sequences  of 
gradation  but  also  sequences  of  alternation  between  values, 
light  and  dark,  and  colors,  intense  and  neutral;  sequences  in 
which  the  principle  of  Rhythm  will  be  felt  and  observed.  In 
other  words  the  Palette  becomes  an  instrument  with  which 
various  forms  of  Pure  Design,  the  repetitions,  the  sequences 
(progressive  or  rhythmical)  and  the  balances  (axial  or  radial, 
obvious  or  occult)  may  be  simply  and  easily  achieved.  In  this 
way  the  Palette  serves  the  painter  and  designer  both  as  a 
mode  of  thought  and  an  instrument  of  expression. 

Palettes  I  H  and  I  C  may  be  used  in  still  another  way,  the 
idea  being  to  get  sequences  of  triads  which  will  be  comple- 
mentary one  to  the  other;  and  triads  in  these  sequences  in 
each  one  of  which  there  will,  also,  be  a  relation  of  complemen- 
taries.  (See  next  page.) 

Each  of  the  Palettes  I  H  and  I C  is  in  this  way  divided  into 
two  palettes  which  may  be  used  separately  or  both  together; 
according  to  the  end  in  view. 

The  composition  being  established  in  grisaille,  using  Black, 
the  neutrals  produced  by  a  straight-across  mixture  of  com- 
plementaries  and  White,  the  coloring  may  be  developed  in 
a  second  painting;  the  color  elements  of  the  grisaille  being 
brought  out  more  or  less  distinctly,  in  coloring  more  or  less 
intense. 

Using  the  three-column  form  in  setting  the  palettes  and 
omitting  the  two-letter  intermediates,  we  get  two  palettes  of 
twelve  tones  each:  four  of  the  tones  in  each  palette  being 
repetitions.  (See  next  page.)  These  two  palettes  may  be 
especially  recommended. 


28 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


PALETTE 
I  H 

,Wt . Wt, 


Wt 


PALETTE 
I  C 

JWt, Wt, 


V:      7H 


C7      ^Y       HLt       Y'     7H 


6C       OY BV:      H6 


B       5H 

4C^R0 
G       3  11 

2C      VR 
Y,T     1H 

Blk 


Lt 


C7        V 


6C       VR YG:      H6 


C5      ^O        LLt        G^      5H 


.GBC     H4 


M 


4  C       RO. 


C3      JR        HD        B;      3H 


.yg:    H  2 


D 


2  C       OY. 


y       LD        VQ  1 H 

Blk  BI1 


C5        R 

3B^H4 
C3        O 

JV<^  H2 
CI      .Y 

Blk' 


PALETTE 
II  H 

[Wt] 


IBlkJ 


Wt 
HLt 
Lt 
LLt 
M 
HD 
D 
LD 
Blk 


PALETTE 
II  C 

[Wt] 
V Y V 


R 


H 


■B O 


IBlk] 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


29 


Mixing  the  tones  on  vertical  and  diagonal  as  well  as  on  hori- 
zontal lines  and  in  triads,  these  palettes  of  eight  tones  each, 
four  of  them  being  repeated,  will  serve  the  painter,  for  most 
purposes,  quite  as  well  as  Palettes  I  H  and  I  C,  with  fourteen 
tones  each,  seven  of  them  being  repeated. 

So  with  the  other  palettes.  Each  one  may  be  divided  into 
two,  set  vertically  and  in  three  columns. 


PALETTE 
III  H 

[Wt] 


Wt 


PALETTE 

in  c 

[Wt] 


HLt 

Lt 
LLt 

M 
HD 


f 


LD 


[Blk] 


Blk 


[Blk] 


In  using  Palette  III  H,  the  painter  will  find  light  greens 
between  Blue  and  Yellow.  He  can  warm  them  by  adding  more 
or  less  of  the  Orange,  or  he  can  cool  them  by  going  up  to  the 
Violet.  He  will  find  dark  greens  between  Yellow-Green,  Orange 
and  Blue.  For  flesh  tones  in  light  he  can  use  the  triad  Orange, 
Yellow,  Violet.  For  flesh  tones  in  shadow  he  can  use  the  triad 
Violet-Red,  Orange,  Blue.  In  Palette  III  C,  howeter.  he  will 
get  light  greens  which  will  be  more  luminous  and  flesh  tones 
which  will  be  more  brilliant;  having  Red  and  Green  in  Low 
Light  instead  of  Blue  and  Orange.  He  can,  of  course,  use  both 
palettes,  if  he  has  occasion  to  do  so.  He  will  then  be  using 
Palette  III  HC,  set  in  three  columns  instead  of  two. 


30 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


PALETTE 
IV  HC 

Set  vertically 


PALETTE 
V  H 


PALETTE 
V  C 


Wt 

HLt 
Lt 

LLt 
M 

HD 
D 

LD 

31k 


Plk] 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


31 


PALETTE 
VI  H 


PALETTE 
VI  C 


IBlk] 


Wt 
HLt 

Lt 
LLt 

M 

HD 
D 

LD 

BIk 


[Blkj 


PALETTE 
VII  H^C 

Set  vertically 


BIk 


32 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


PALETTE 
VIII  H 


PALETTE 
VIII  C 


PALETTE 
IX  H 

Wt 


Blk 


Wt 
HLt 
Lt 
LLt 
M 
HD 
D 
LD 
Blk 


PALETTE 
IX  C 

Wt 


Blk 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 


33 


PALETTE 
X  H 

Wt 


Wt 
HLt 


PALETTE 
X  C 

Wt 


Blk 


PALETTE 
XI  H 

Wt 


Blk 


Wt 
HLt 

Lt 
LLt 

M 
HD 

D 

LD 
Blk 


PALETTE 
XI  C 

Wt 


Blk 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

PALETTE 
XII  HC 

Set  vertically 


Using  any  one  of  the  H  series  of  palettes  and  finding  it  im- 
possible to  get  certain  tones  that  are  required,  the  painter  is 
at  liberty  to  use  in  connection  with  it  its  complement  in  the 
C  series:  or  using  any  palette  in  the  C  series  and  finding  it 
impossible  to  get  certain  tones  that  are  required  it  is  possible 
to  use,  in  connection  with  it,  its  complement  in  the  H  series. 
This  means  using  an  HC  palette  instead  of  an  H  or  a  C  palette. 

I  prefer,  as  a  rule,  the  vertical  setting  of  these  palettes. 
Instead  of  using  two  or  more  color  movements  set  horizon- 
tally, end  to  end,  I  use  them  set  vertically,  side  by  side,  as 
separate  palettes.  I  then  use  one  or  the  other,  as  occasion  may 
require. 

If  pastels,  crayons  and  colored  pencils  were  produced  repre- 
senting the  tones  of  any  of  these  palettes,  Palette  II  HC,  for 
example,  we  should  have  a  very  simple  means  of  studying 
the  phenomena  of  light  and  color  and  a  means  of  making, 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  35 

easily  and  quickly,  records  of  visual  experience  and  schemes 
of  design.  With  such  a  mode  of  thought  and  expression  the 
study  of  light  and  color  might  be  introduced  into  schools  and 
colleges  where  the  use  of  palettes  with  the  materials  of  oil- 
painting  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  The  use  of  water  colors, 
in  accordance  with  the  system  of  complementaries  and  com- 
plementary mixtures,  is  difficult.  It  is  only  the  master  who  can 
paint  in  water  colors  without  making  a  mess  of  it.  Using  pas- 
tels, crayons  and  colored  pencils  the  student  will  see  clearly 
the  effect  of  complementary  mixtures  and  will  come  to  recog- 
nize and  appreciate  the  value  of  the  system  of  tone-relations 
and  the  palettes  which  I  am  describing.  When  he  understands 
the  system  he  will  be  able  by  practice  and  in  due  time  to  use 
it  in  water  color  painting,  in  which  fine  discriminations  in 
light  and  color  are  so  very  difficult  to  achieve. 

With  pieces  of  white  glass  and  of  glass  colored  according 
to  the  tones  of  any  one  of  these  palettes,  Palette  II  HC  for 
example,  we  should  have  the  best  possible  material  for  the 
production  of  designs  in  Stained  Glass. 

Having  used  all  of  these  palettes,  and  others  arranged  on 
the  same  principles,  and  having  compared  the  effects  of  light 
and  color  produced  (for  the  most  part  in  figure  and  portrait 
work),  I  find  that  very  different  effects  and  tonalities  are  pro- 
duced by  different  palettes.  This  is  due,  first,  to  the  tones  of 
the  palette,  which  may  be  more  or  less  luminous  or  more  or 
less  intense.  It  is  due,  also,  to  the  differences  of  value  and 
color  intervals.  Using  Palette  I  HC  it  is  possible  to  achieve 
the  effect  of  many  colors  in  a  high  degree  of  intensity  in  a 
very  bright  light.  This  effect  cannot  be  produced,  in  the  same 
degree,  with  any  other  palette.  The  effects  produced  with 
Palette  II  HC  will  be  less  brilliant,  though  the  effort  be  made 
to  neutralize  the  tones  of  the  palette  as  little  as  possible. 
With  Palette  III  HC  the  tones  between  Low  Light  and  High 
Light  will  be  fairly  intense  and  brilliant;  but  the  tones  in  the 
lower  values  will  be  relatively  neutral  and  dull.  With  Palette 
VIII  HC,  intense,  brilliant  tones  can  be  produced  only  between 
the  values  Dark  and  Light.  With  Palette  IV  HC  the  most 


36  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

intense  and  brilliant  coloring  will  be  in  the  value  Middle  and 
just  above  and  below  it.  The  Yellow  in  High  Light,  though 
brilliant  in  itself,  is  relatively  neutral,  that  is  to  say,  half-hot 
and  half-cold,  and  no  very  strong  contrast  of  color  can  be 
produced  between  this  Yellow  and  the  Violet,  its  complemen- 
tary, which  is  also  half -hot  and  half -cold.  The  effects,  there- 
fore, which  are  produced  with  Palette  IV  HC  will  be  decidedly 
neutral,  and  the  effects  produced  with  Palette  VII  HJC  will 
be  still  more  neutral.  With  a  full  and  complete  palette  in  the 
lights  effects  of  high  luminosity  and  brilliancy  may  be  pro- 
duced; with  a  full  and  complete  palette  in  the  darks  the  effects 
will  be  of  low  light.  The  Reds  and  Blues  may  be  intense,  but 
Red  and  Blue  are  colors  of  low  degrees  of  luminosity.  The 
painter  must  know  what  he  wants  and  he  must  set  his  palette 
accordingly. 

As  in  Music  we  pass  from  one  key  to  another,  modulating 
through  notes  and  chords  which  are  common  to  both  keys; 
so  in  Painting,  it  is  possible  to  modulate  from  one  palette  to 
another,  from  one  tonality  to  another,  making  the  transition 
through  tones  and  mixtures  which  are  common  to  both 
palettes.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  in  Music  the 
sounds  of  one  key  have  passed  out  of  hearing  before  those  of 
another  can  be  heard,  whereas,  in  Painting  the  tonality  of  one 
palette  and  the  tonality  of  another  may  be  seen  and  felt 
simultaneously.  In  my  own  experience,  it  rarely  happens  that 
I  feel  the  need  of  more  than  one  palette.  I  generally  use 
either  one  of  the  HC  series,  or  one  of  the  H  series,  or  one  of 
the  C  series.  I  rarely  use  any  asymmetrical  forms  of  the  HC 
series.  There  is,  really,  no  occasion  to  use  more  than  one 
palette  in  any  design  or  picture  unless  you  are  trying  to  imi- 
tate or  copy  what  you  see  in  all  of  its  particulars.  This  may 
be  the  purpose  of  the  painter  but  it  is  rarely  the  purpose  of 
the  artist;  who  rejoices  in  consistency  and  harmony  and  is 
less  interested  in  what  may  be  called  the  particulars  or  statis- 
tics of  vision.  This  interest  in  the  particulars  of  vision  belongs 
rather  to  Science  than  to  Art  and  is  irrelevant  to  one  very 
important  branch  of  Science,  the  Science  which  means  a 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  87 

knowledge  and  appreciation  of  Order  and  the  Beautiful. 
The  aim  of  the  painter  who  is  an  artist  is  never  imitation.  His 
object  is  not  to  copy  but  to  represent.  The  truth  he  achieves 
lies  in  a  relativity  of  tones  producing  a  true  effect;  an  effect 
which  can  rarely,  if  ever,  be  achieved  by  the  imitation  and 
copying  of  particulars  observed. 

It  is  a  good  rule  for  the  beginner  and  student  to  use  one 
palette  exclusively,  say  Palette  II  H  or  II  C  or  the  combina- 
tion of  these  two  in  II  HC;  until  he  gets  a  clear  knowledge  of 
its  limitations  and  its  possibilities.  In  becoming  master  of  one 
palette  he  is  in  the  way  of  becoming  a  master  of  all  of  them. 
They  rest,  all  of  them,  on  the  same  principle  and  are  used  in 
the  same  ways. 

No  two  palettes  will  give  quite  the  same  relativities  and 
effects.  To  understand  this,  the  student  should  analyze  and 
represent  a  certain  effect  of  light  using  a  number  and  variety 
of  palettes;  observing  how  the  truth  of  form  may  be  expressed 
in  different  terms,  in  different  effects,  in  different  tonalities. 
Take  any  effect  in  Nature;  the  effect  of  a  certain  model;  in  a 
certain  pose,  in  a  certain  place,  in  a  certain  light;  with  certain 
accessories,  clothes,  etc.  Change  the  light  from  diffused  day- 
light to  concentrated  daylight;  from  daylight  to  electric  light; 
from  cold  electric  light  to  hot  electric  light;  use  mirrors,  one, 
two  or  more,  to  vary  the  reflections,  and  you  will  understand 
what  it  means  to  reveal  the  truth  of  form  in  different  effects 
of  light  and  color;  in  the  different  tonalities  of  different  pal- 
ettes. What  Nature  does  is  what  the  painter  is  supposed  to 
do,  following  her  example.  Take  certain  pictures  and  designs, 
preferably  the  work  of  the  great  masters,  and  render  them  in 
the  different  tonalities  of  different  palettes.  It  is  a  most  inter- 
esting study  and  the  best  possible  discipline  and  training. 
By  this  training  the  painter  will  come  to  understand,  at'  last, 
how  his  object  is,  not  so  much  to  copy  and  reproduce  what  he 
may  happen  to  see  at  a  certain  moment  and  in  a  certain  place; 
not  so  much  that  as  to  follow  Nature  in  her  principles  and 
laws,  and  in  so  doing  to  produce  results  and  effects  which  will 
be  comparable  with  hers  in  their  lawfulness  and  consistency. 


38  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

Whether  they  exactly  correspond  with  hers  or  not  becomes  a 
secondary  consideration. 

Each  palette  has  its  limitations  and  its  possibilities.  What 
the  limitations  are  is  easy  to  see  and  understand  after  some 
experimental  practice,  but  the  possibilities  are  indefinite  and 
infinite.  The  result  and  effect  depend,  not  only  upon  the  tones 
of  the  palette  and  upon  the  mixtures  which  may  be  made  of 
those  tones,  but,  still  more,  upon  the  positions,  measures  and 
shapes  which  are  given  to  the  tones  in  the  design  or  picture 
which  is  being  produced.  Definite  as  they  are  in  themselves, 
these  palettes  are  infinitely  suggestive  and  perfectly  inconclu- 
sive. They  are  simply  a  metrical  system  in  tone-relations. 

The  painter  will,  of  course,  choose  his  palette  from  the  HC 
series  or  from  the  H  series,  or  from  the  C  series,  or  choose  some 
combination  of  palettes  with  a  view  to  the  effect  or  effects  of 
light  and  color  he  wishes  to  produce.  As  a  rule  he  will  choose 
one  or  another  of  the  abbreviations  of  Palette  I  HC.  The  use 
of  the  complete  palette  or  even  the  half  of  it,  I H  or  I  C  means 
keeping  a  very  large  number  of  tones  carefully  prepared  in 
their  proper  values,  colors,  and  intensities,  and  in  a  condition 
ready  for  use;  and  this  unnecessarily.  Why  use  Palette  I  HC 
when  you  are  able,  using  Palette  IV  HC,  to  produce  all  the 
tones  you  require?  Why  use  Palette  I  H  or  I  C  when  VI  HC 
will  give  you  all  the  tones  you  need.  The  painter  should  choose 
one  palette  rather  than  a  combination  and  among  the  palettes 
the  simplest  one  that  will  serve  his  purpose. 

If  the  painter  is  interested  only  in  form  and  not  in  color  he 
should  use  Palette  VII  HJC  and  produce  his  composition  and 
drawing  in  grisaille.  Being  interested  in  space-relations  and 
the  expression  of  form  he  should  follow  and  express  his  interest 
in  the  simplest  mode  that  is  appropriate  for  the  purpose. 
Coloring,  if  uninteresting,  should  be  left  out;  it  complicates 
the  result  and  makes  an  irrelevant  appeal.  In  Art  we  are  sup- 
posed to  express  our  interests,  whatever  they  are;  with  the 
omission  of  all  that  is  inconsistent  with  them  or  irrelevant  to 
them.  If  the  painter  is  interested  in  color  relations  mainly, 
the  associated  forms  being  relatively  uninteresting,  it  is  un- 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  39 

necessary  for  him  to  do  more  than  reproduce  the  effect  of 
light  and  color;  a  careful  delineation  of  the  forms  which  do 
not  interest  him  being  irrelevant  to  his  purpose.  It  is  a  mis- 
take to  feel  obliged,  when  you  have  an  idea  to  express,  to 
express  other  ideas  which  do  not  interest  you;  just  for  the  sake 
of  what  is  conventionally  regarded  as  completeness.  Of  course, 
if  your  interest  is  completeness  it  must  be  achieved.  The  rule 
is  to  study  what  interests  you  and  to  express  what  interests 
you.  In  that  way  your  art  becomes  the  expression  and  measure 
of  your  mind  and  character.  Your  interests  arid  ideas  being 
set  forth  and  exposed,  you  are  judged,  praised  or  condemned 
accordingly. 

Apart  from  interests  and  ideas,  is  the  Art  of  Painting;  with 
its  materials,  its  modes,  its  methods,  and  its  laws.  The  Art  of 
Painting  has  been  very  slowly  developed  and  established,  by 
good  precedents,  and  by  the  exercise  of  reason  and  common 
sense  in  connection  with  them.  In  ignoring  or  disregarding 
the  Aj-t  so  established;  in  using  strange  materials;  in  following 
unprecedented  methods  and  modes;  in  disobeying  the  rules 
and  laws  of  the  Art;  you  are  not  expressing  yourself  in  the  Art 
but  experimenting  with  it;  perhaps  with  a  view  to  changing 
it.  That  may  or  may  not  be  worth  while.  In  the  meantime  the 
Art  of  Painting  is  the  same  for  all  painters,  for  all  artists.  It  is 
like  the  language  which  we  all  use.  The  question  is:  what  have 
you  or  I  to  express  by  Painting;  what  are  your  interests;  what 
are  my  interests;  what  ideas  have  you  to  express;  what  ideas 
have  I  to  express?  In  expressing  ourselves,  our  interests,  our 
ideas,  we  use  the  same  Art,  you  and  I. 

Painting  means  taking  tones  from  the  palette  and  giving 
them  positions,  measures,  and  shapes  on  some  surface  upon 
which  we  are  producing  a  design  or  picture.  Given  certain 
tones;  the  positions,  measures,  and  shapes  are  infinitely  vari- 
able. Given  certain  positions,  measures,  and  shapes;  the  tones 
are  infinitely  variable.  It  is  a  question  of  tones  and  it  is  a 
question  of  positions,  measures,  and  shapes.  The  tones  depend 
upon  the  palette  and  the  method  of  using  it.  The  positions, 
measures,  and  shapes  which  are  given  to  the  tones  depend 


40  THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE 

upon  visual  experience  and  the  imagination.  We  may  use  the 
same  palette  and  follow  the  same  method.  There  is  nothing 
personal  or  exclusive  about  the  palette;  but  vision  is  personal, 
and  the  imagination  is  even  more  personal  than  vision.  We 
are  not  judged  by  the  palette  which  we  use  or  by  the  method 
we  follow  in  using  it,  but  rather  by  what  we  see,  imagine,  and 
express.  The  piano  is  an  admirable  instrument.  There  are 
many  players,  but  very  few  artists.  We  may  all  of  us  use  the 
same  palette  in  the  same  way,  and  only  one  of  us  produce 
anything  that  is  interesting  or  significant.  We  may  all  be 
painters  and  there  may  be  only  one  artist  among  us.  We  call 
him  the  artist  not  because  he  uses  a  palette  but  because  he 
has  a  good  reason  and  occasion  for  using  one. 

It  must  be  understood  that  these  set-palettes  are  not  pro- 
posed as  recipes  for  Truth  or  the  Beautiful.  They  are  simply 
modes  of  thought,  in  which  we  are  able  to  think  in  definite 
terms  to  definite  ends.  They  are,  also,  instruments  which  we 
may  use  in  expressing  ourselves. 

Whether  the  painter  is  a  person  of  knowledge  and  under- 
standing, of  intelligence  and  ability  or  not,  whether  he  has 
good  judgment  and  good  taste  or  not,  makes  all  the  difference 
in  the  world.  Unintelligent  and  stupid  people  will  produce 
unintelligent  and  stupid  paintings.  There  is  no  help  for  stupid- 
ity. It  is  bound  to  express  itself  in  spite  of  the  palette.  The 
greatest  fool  I  ever  met  was  a  master  of  four  languages  in 
each  of  which  he  expressed  himself,  unmistakably.  The  pal- 
ette is  merely  a  mode  and  means  of  expression;  with  its  laws 
and  its  rules  which  are  its  grammar.  It  is  the  same  in  painting 
as  it  is  in  speech  and  in  writing.  The  speaker  or  writer  must 
have  more  to  offer  to  us  than  a  knowledge  of  the  language. 
What  is  it  that  he  has  to  say?  What  is  it  that  he  will  put  in 
writing?  Back  of  the  language  is  the  man  who  uses  it.  Behind 
the  palette  is  the  painter;  and  the  question  is,  always:  has  he 
anything  to  express  by  painting?  If  he  has  something  to 
express;  something  interesting  and  significant;  a  properly 
set  palette  will  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  him.  When  he 
has  mastered  it  and  knows  how  to  use  it,  he  will  say  of  it 


THE  PAINTER'S  PALETTE  41 

that  he  cannot  express  himself  without  it;  which  is  perfectly- 
true. 

The  painters  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  of  the  Renaissance 
used  carefully  set  palettes  and  definite  tone-relations.  This  is 
proved  by  the  recurrence,  again  and  again,  of  exactly  the 
same  tonalities  and  effects.  Modern  painters  have,  as  a  rule, 
avoided  the  use  of  set-palettes  and  tone-systems;  preferring 
to  depend  on  visual  feeling  or  native  genius.  In  so  doing  they 
have  made  a  very  great  mistake,  and  some  of  them  are  now 
fully  aware  of  this.  There  is  no  getting  on  properly  and  suc- 
cessfully in  any  art  without  metrical  systems  or  modes,  in 
which  it  is  possible  to  think  definitely  and  to  express  oneself 
in  what  will  be  recognized  as  good  form.  There  is,  indeed,  no 
art  which  can  be  satisfactorily  and  successfully  practiced  with- 
out constant  reference  and  obedience  to  mathematical  prin- 
ciples, systems,  and  laws.  Through  order  we  come  to  the  beau- 
tiful. This  idea,  which  I  have  had  in  mind  as  the  basis  of  my 
teaching,  is  particularly  well  expressed  by  Poincare  in  the 
introduction  to  his  book  on  the  Value  of  Science;  where  he 
says:  "What  we  call  objective  reality  is,  in  the  last  analysis, 
what  is  common  to  many  thinking  beings,  and  could  be  com- 
mon to  all;  this  common  part,  we  shall  see,  can  only  be  the 
harmony  expressed  by  mathematical  laws.  It  is  this  harmony 
then  which  is  the  sole  objective  reality,  the  only  truth  we  can 
attain;  and  when  I  add  that  the  universal  harmony  of  the 
world  is  the  source  of  all  beauty,  it  will  be  understood  what 
price  we  should  attach  to  the  slow  and  difficult  progress  which 
little  by  little  enables  us  to  know  it  better." 


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